Local News: Promises to end child poverty easier than progress

Nov 24, 2009

They are among some 637,000 children – or almost one in 10 Canadian kids – living in poverty.

That's down slightly from 11.9 per cent, or 792,000 children who were poor in 1989, says Campaign 2000, a national coalition that has been tracking the lack of progress on the federal promise for years.

In Ontario, child poverty sits at 9.4 per cent – or 257,000 kids – about the same as 20 years ago. Ontario's poverty reduction plan aims to cut child poverty by 25 per cent, or 90,000 children, by 2013.